ABOUT

ABOUT

“Kimie Miner, a Hawaii native and self-taught songwriter and guitarist, is best known for her ability to weave acoustic soul, reggae, Hawaiian with a touch of R&B and funk, into cool sultry melodies comparable to legends Lauryn Hill and India Arie.

Kimie continues to write soulful melodies that make me want to lay out in the sun, contemplate life and dump my boyfriend. The more I listen to her songs, the more I feel I know her…with glimpses of lyrical emotion and rhythmic oohs. The tunes I'm most drawn to have an obvious angst and longing, like ‘Is This Love.’ Her honesty continues to come through in her soulful voice and her island-inspired sound. Kimie is addicting.” – MauiThing Blog

Singer-songwriter Kimié (pronounced Kim-mi-Yay) Miner manages to create an inimitable musical style that dresses the listener in a flowing mu’umu’u on a cool beach, easily mistaken for paradise. Growing up on an island surrounded by the ocean was a formative experience for Kimié, and an experience that can be distinctly heard through her work. Her melodies embody a loose, down-to-earth feel, and her lyrics create a universal imagery that transcends ethnicity, gender, age, and musical genre.

Kimié’s parents, who are of Hawaiian and Portuguese decent, noticed her affinity for music at a very young age, and at 14-years-old she taught herself to play guitar and began writing her own original songs. She found inspiration in a wide range of music from Hawaiian, Jazz and R&B-influenced individuals such as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, India.Arie, Lauryn Hill, and Eva Cassidy. While an undergraduate at University of San Diego, Kimié embarked on her first west coast American tour at age 19 with reggae star Barrington Levy. Following the tour Miner resided in Clarendon, Jamaica for a few months to write and work with Levy in the studio.

Kimié champions the idea that one should remain true to who they are and to approach their experiences with the pride of their heritage. Her songs regularly evoke the Hawaiian concept of the Piko: the “naval” or “center” which represents a home base to which one can always return. She notes that “As Hawaiians, we have our roots and our routes. We know who we are, and we take that knowledge with us when we navigate and explore the rest of the world.”

Kimié released her first EP, To The Seain 2013 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The seven track album included radio singles, "Is This Love", "Shame on You", "Rooted", and "Make Me Say" featuring Hawaiian musician and former schoolmate Imua Garza which had much radio success and reached #1 on KCCN-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 2013. In 2015, Kimié wrote and co-produced her full-length album, Kimié Miner. The album also includes collaborations with Caleb Keolanui from The Green and L.A. reggae band Detour Posse, and went on to win “Contemporary Album of the Year” at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards in 2016. Continuing to make a splash, she was featured on Brian Mcknight’s 2016 album, “Better” on track 08 entitled, Goodbye.

Her new single, Bamboo, draws inspiration from her experience with love and creating healthy relationships. “I live on the North Shore of O’ahu so I do a lot of driving. Inspired by the beauty on the east side of O’ahu, I like to write new songs. One day while driving I started singing this hook ‘bam bam booooo’ and I couldnʻt get it out of my head.” After participating in the first Creative Lab Hawai’i Immersive Music Program she had the opportunity to work in Los Angeles with music supervisors and songwriters. During a co-write with Jesse Epstein and Isaac Moreno she shared her hook idea of ‘bam bam boo’ and a song was born.

Slated for a career-defining 2017, Kimié will release her next album, Proud as the Sun, on October 13, 2017which marks a new chapter in her life and career. “I’m older now, more comfortable in my skin. The theme of this album is the strength of women, the beauty found in femininity. Also, there is a vein that runs through the whole project - the theme of air, a bird’s eye view of everything, the idea of a new and broader perspective, growth, becoming more independent. My previous albums were themed around water (journeying, traveling) and land (reconnecting with my home). All of the artwork for this next album is predominantly white representing a new beginning, a slate wiped clean, a blank canvas waiting to be written upon.”

Outside of just her own music, Kimié contines to be a hardworking businesswoman with her own company, Haku Collective. Haku is a full-service music, audio, and talent production group providing access to the creative output from Hawai‘i’s emerging and leading artists.

“Hawai’i is very community based. Many of the recording artists, producers, and writers here commonly work together on our music projects as a lāhui or collective. Yet no one is really representing us, the new generation of Hawaiian music, as a whole to the world outside of Hawaiʻi. I wanted to create a company to provide greater opportunities for us. After participating in Creative Labs Hawaii- music immersive, I could see a clearer path and direction for our collective to work together. I was presented with a job opportunity as an artist, but instead saw it as an opportunity for our collective to benefit. So I started Haku Hawaiʻi, not just for us now but for artists coming up after us. I’ve always had a heart for children. I’ve been a mentor for several non-profits for a few years before incorporating our own mentorship program into Haku. We mentor our talented youth and provide quality opportunities for them. I am constantly working at growing my new company Haku Hawai’i into the kind of collective of which I, which Hawaii, can be proud.”

Kimié’s goal is simple and pure – to live her life passionately and inspire others in the process. “We have to know where we come from to know where we’re going. Using our roots gives wings and I’m ready to fly.”